Tribune Mother Of The Year Winners

My mom is special day through night,
She loves me and hugs me very tight,
Then she makes the rooms oh-so clean,
So you see she is not at all mean.
She always washes our clothes with care
So we always have something to wear,
She is also unique,
By how many children she has (5 girls) and I am one, out of them!
Also she makes our food, and it is always so good,
I asked her to teach then she said that she could!
Piano is also something she can do
She taught me how to play, too
And after laundry she irons.
By the end of the day,
She is very tired,
But she doesn’t stop,
She doesn’t stop to rest…
‘Cause out of all moms
She is the best!

KATIE RECEIVES:New York Mets -
4 box seats to the Mother’s Day game

Sterling Pharmacy, Bayside - $25 gift certificate

New York Black Belt, Bayside - one week Kick Boxing Class

Georgia Diner, Elmhurst - $30 gift certificate

Cara Mia Restaurant, Queens Village – $50 gift certificate

Edison Place, Glendale - $25 gift certificate

Edible Arrangements, Glen Oaks - $25 gift certificate

Dip Pour & Drizzle, Flushing - chocolate basket

Platz Hardware, Ridgewood - $25 gift certificate

Shop & Go Wine & Spirits, Maspeth – $20 gift certificate

Glendale Diner, Glendale - $40 gift certificate

Associated Market Place, Sunnyside – $30 gift certificate

Associated Market Place, Astoria – $25 gift certificate

Trattoria Neo, Whitestone - $25 gift certificate

WINNER: Age 9 to 12Isabel Hernandez, 12Mom: Frances, Richmond Hill

Look up the word mother in the dictionary. “A woman in relation to a child to whom she had given birth.” My mother is more than those thirteen words. She is loving, compassionate, forgiving. I could go on, but I have a word limit and you can’t feel the fiery burst inside me when I think about her. She brought me into this world. Something that no one else can do. She has been there for me all my 12 years of living, giving unconditional care to my family and me. I still don’t understand how one person can give so much love to another. I guess I would know if I had my own child.

I read a poem, “The Lanyard,” by Billy Collins shown to me by my teacher Mrs. Rizzo. It is about a boy who made a lanyard for his mother in the hope that it would make up for all the things that she ever did for him. The poem shows how much mothers do for their kids. I wrote this to show my mother how much she means to me. This is my “lanyard.”

She’s always there for me when I need help getting back on our carousel-like lives. Sometimes I get dizzy and fall, but my mother is there. I believe in love at first sight because I have loved my mother since I opened my eyes. I love you mom. You really are mother of the year.

My mother’s story echoes the American immigrant experience. She was prevented from finishing her university studies in Saigon due to the Vietnam War. By the end of the war, she had lost her home, had faced years of harassment from the invading army, and her family was split up around the world. When she immigrated to NY, she faced a new world with a foreign culture, an unfamiliar language, and poverty. Then came a series of low-paying, uninsured jobs, and an adulterous and abusive husband.

My mother is special, but not because of her harrowing experiences. She is special because of her character and grit in the face of this adversity. Despite two-hour work commutes, we always had dinner in the evening, and she never stopped trying to improve her skills by taking evening and weekend classes. She believed that by working hard, we could improve our situation little by little and find solutions to our problems. She always held me to the highest standards and encouraged me to take advantage of the opportunities she was denied. I’m lucky to have such a strong woman for my mother.